Shortage of lifesaving allergy shots putting children at risk

It has been revealed that 1 in 10 MummyPages mums has experienced her child going into anaphylactic shock and had to administer a lifesaving shot of epinephrine - a shot that fights the symptoms of severe allergic reactions.

Keeping this in mind, 20% of mums also say they have experienced problems in purchasing these life-saving epinephrine pens due to supply shortages caused by recalled batches of faulty products.

These findings come from our latest survey - the biggest of its kind on children and allergies in Ireland - which highlights the extent to which allergies affect families all over the country.

With our results showing that 1 in 5 children in Ireland suffers from an allergy, it’s clear that the government needs to play a more pivotal role in improving the diagnosis, education and treatment of food allergies in Ireland.

Deepening the investigation into epinephrine pens, a complementary MummyPages.ie poll of pharmacists nationwide highlighted major concerns regarding:

The inconsistent supply of epinephrine pens, with faulty batches recalled earlier this year.
The short shelf life of epinephrine pens, many with only six to nine months left on the recommended 18-month shelf life.
Significant confusion among pharmacists as to whether or not they can dispense epinephrine pens in the event of an emergency.

97% of mums are now calling for epinephrine pens to be made available in public areas to prevent fatalities among the country's children, emphasising the need for immediate action.

With Halloween just around the corner, this eye-opening research also highlights many parents’ concerns during ‘trick or treat’ season. Allergies and food intolerances in Irish children have risen significantly with the most common being eggs (24%), milk (22%) and nuts (19%).

Even more concerning, it was found that 60% of schools in Ireland do not have food allergy policies in place, with an understandable 96% of mums wanting the government to make such policies mandatory.

MummyPages Mum-in-Residence, Laura Haugh, says: “This Halloween households should be aware of the growing number of children with food allergies in Ireland and be aware when giving out food to children who trick-or-treat. Not all children are supervised when collecting their treats and so the risk is higher for a child to unknowingly eat a food they shouldn’t. In America, the national food allergy association is recommending that households with inclusive non-food related treat for allergy sufferers display a teal blue pumpkin on their doorstep – a signal that children with food allergies can safely trick-or-treat there.”